Legends
by Lingua Dii
Summary: There are many legends in the Pokémon world, but not all are true. Rated T for language.
1. Blake

_Wyatt faced the direction of the Gallade village and started making his way toward it. He walked for hours, finding wild bug Pokémon along the way, as was normal in the forest.  
Night came around, prompting the large Blaziken to make a decision. Should he continue along his path, or should he rest for the night?_

_"____If I hurry, I can probably make it there in a few more hours... Then again, their leader might be asleep; waking him up could put him in a bad mood... I'll rest here for the night.__"_

_Wyatt started gathering wood for a small fire, to keep wild Pokémon, such as Ursaring and Rhyhorn, away, in case they tried to attack him. Although he felt confident in his own fighting skills, he'd rather avoid fighting if it were possible; especially against wild Pokémon, who were only trying to defend themselves._

_Once he felt he had enough wood, Wyatt put it all on the same spot, circled it with stones, to prevent a forest fire, and lit it, using his own fire abilities. In the blink of an eye, the wood was crackling and burning._

_"____There. That should keep them away.__"_

_Wyatt unrolled the makeshift sleeping bag he had made at home and lied down in it. He briefly wondered how his family was doing back in his village, but fell asleep soon after._

_Blake heard several screams coming from many directions, as well as sounds of battle._

_"____What's going on?__"_

_He opened his eyes and found his village burning around him, with the sounds of battle getting louder and louder. He walked toward where the sound was coming from, and noticed something was different about him. He had long arms with three fingers, and strong legs. He had become a Blaziken._

_"____I changed? So soon? How?__"_

_"Blake!" yelled one of the village's elders. "Go help our warriors!"  
"Uh... Y-Yes, sir!"_

_Blake started running and found himself at the edge of a canyon. His village's forces were in battle with the forces from the Gallade village. He saw some of his villagers running away from the battle, even though they were being targeted by attacks from the Gallade. The Gallade and Gardevoir villagers also ran away, and they were also the target of some attacks by the Blaziken. However, the real battle was going on in the middle of all this. Blaziken and Gallade were fighting like nothing Blake had ever seen before. Blaziken jumped around, thanks to their strong legs, and rained fire from the sky. The Gallade, in turn, protected themselves with psychic shields and retaliated by firing psychic blasts at the sky. Most of the attacks missed or were foiled by either Pokémon defenses, but the ones that hit were devastating, practically knocking out their targets with a single attack.  
However, all this was nothing compared to the horror Blake witnessed when he looked at the Pokémon that had been knocked out. The last lines of defense of both sides approached the middle of the battle and, on the way, killed every enemy they could find. Their blood spilled onto the ground, soaking it and painting it red. Blake fell to his knees and cried for a few seconds, before a deep rage took hold of him. The thoughts of his friends dying and murdering others in cold blood completely washed over him. He screamed at the top of his lungs for them to stop, but they wouldn't listen. Dust surrounded the battlefield and, when it cleared, everyone was dead. Blood and bodies covered the entire area. Blake resumed his crying stance and wept for the loss of his friends and family, as well as the Gallade._

_Blake opened his eyes and found himself in his bed, covered in sweat._

_"____It was just a dream... Thank Arceus... But... it felt so real... All that horror... Is that what's going to happen if war breaks out?__"_

_"Blake!"  
"Yeah, mom?"  
"I need your help here!"  
"Coming, mom!"_

_"____I'd better not tell her about my nightmare... She'd just try to 'fix it'.__"_

_Wyatt woke up several minutes after Blake himself. Thankfully, all his items were still in place. He picked them up, put out the fire, and continued on his way to the Gallade village._

_"____I hope I'm not too late...__"_

_Meanwhile, in the Blaziken village, Blake, with his mother's permission, wandered to the Lucario village, to talk to Max. On his way there, he found Max, who was also heading back to meet him._

_"Hey, Max."  
"Hey."_

_Blake was still somewhat shaken up from his nightmare, and Max, being naturally empathetic, picked up on it. However, he decided to leave it up to Blake to talk about it._

_"____Whatever it is, it's not good.__" Max thought._

_The boys talked for several hours; discussing everything about their lives. Once they ran out of memories, they started talking about their own kind; specifically how they evolved._

_"So how do Riolu change into Lucario?"  
"You first."  
"It's pretty simple: we just get stronger, and then it happens."  
"Wow. I wish it were that simple for me. With us... We have to find a very good friend – usually another Riolu or a Lucario – and then we change."  
"That sounds kinda cool..."  
"It's a pain. Do you have any idea how many Riolu never change because they couldn't find a friend?"  
"I never thought of it that way..."  
"I wish we were like you. I don't want to stay like this forever."  
"...I'll be your friend."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. I won't rest until you change."  
"That's not normal, but... Thanks, Blake."  
"Hey, wanna fight again?"  
"Sure!"_

_As the boys started their first round of the day of friendly sparring, Wyatt finally reached the Gallade village. He was received with wary looks and some anger. Three guards quickly approached him and asked him what he was doing._

_"What do you want?"  
"I'm here to see your leader."  
"Eli doesn't want to talk to some piss-poor excuse for a Blaziken."_

_Wyatt looked around and saw the three Gallade quickly surrounding him. He knew there was no way he'd be able to defeat them all, unless they were fought one at a time, so he decided to play nice._

_"Look, I have something important to ask your leader. It could mean war if you don't let me."  
"Is that a threat?"_

_The guards tensed up from hearing their leader's question; they were beginning to think that, soon, they'd have to fight Blaziken, starting with Wyatt. Wyatt, sensing the tension, prepared himself mentally for battle. However, he gave diplomacy one last shot._

_"No. It's not a threat; it's... Look, supposedly, there's a group of Gallade getting ready to strike our village. I need to talk to your leader about it."_

_The guards' leader signaled them to relax, and so they did._

_"...Very well. We'll take you to him."_

_"____Finally... Progress.__" Wyatt thought._

_Wyatt was taken to the Gallade's leader's hut. On the way there, a lot of the villagers closed their windows and hid from him, as well as stopping their children from staring at him, as if they feared him. It made him feel uncomfortable, yet powerful. Once he arrived at the Gallade's leader's hut, he was greeted warmly by their leader. Wyatt was surprised by this, but decided to go along with it, lest he insult the Gallade's leader and ruin his chance to settle his affairs peacefully. Next to the leader was the leader's son, Zach. He whispered something incomprehensible into his father's ear, who then changed his expression to one of worry._

_"What's your name, son?"  
"I'm Wyatt, sir."  
"Good to meet you. I'm Eli. I'm told you walked here from the Blaziken village; is that correct?"  
"Yes."  
"Well, speak up! What did you want to discuss?"  
"Well, sir... According to some Gallade we... interrogated, an attack is being planned. We need to know if it's your doing."_

_Zach leaned closer to his father and whispered in his ear again._

_"Father, this Blaziken – Wyatt – is obviously lying. He wants us to believe his story so they can declare war on us."_

_Eli faced his son and whispered back._

_"I don't know, son... I think he's serious."  
"Father, I-"  
"Enough, son. I trust him. Besides, we've got nothing to hide. We didn't do this."_

_Wyatt was somewhat confused and suspicious by the whispering taking place in front of him, until Eli faced him again and started speaking._

_"Wyatt, I assure you we are __**not**__ behind this. Whatever's going on, our troops will assist you."  
"Really?"  
"Of course. We don't want a war any more than you do."_

_The guards in the room began to whisper to each other. Wyatt couldn't understand most of it, but from what he did understand, it seemed that some of the guards didn't share their leader's distaste for war. However, it was clear that they would obey their leader, as they were sworn to do._

_"I'll send four of my best men with you to stop this attack. I hope this proves you have nothing to fear from us."  
"Thank you, sir."  
"Wait for them by the edge of the village, facing the direction of your village. They will meet you there."  
"Thank you."_

_Wyatt left Eli's hut and headed for the rendezvous point. Just as he left, Eli told his son to choose three other warriors and go with Wyatt back to the Blaziken village._

_"Father, I don't trust that Blaziken."  
"Don't worry. It'll be fine. Trust me."  
"...Alright, father. I'll do it."_

_Zach pointed at three of the warriors in the hut and told them to follow him. They were warriors he trusted fully, so he knew if anything unexpected happened, they would go so far as to give up their lives for him._

_Zach and the three warriors met Wyatt at the proper location and began the trip back to the Blaziken village. Meanwhile, Blake and Max finished their third round of sparring. By the end of it they were completely exhausted, unable to move._

_"I almost had you that time!" Max yelled.  
"Right! Like I'd let you beat me."_

_"____If only you knew I wasn't taking advantage of the fact that you have no arms...__" Max thought._

_The boys lied on the short grass next to each other, recovering from the several rounds of sparring that always ended in draws. After gathering enough strength to do so, Blake started discussing his nightmare._

_"You know... I had this... dream – well, more of a nightmare – about the coming war."  
"What war?"  
"You haven't heard? Ever since news of that... kid got out of the Gallade village, my village and theirs have been... unfriendly. My dad says it's only a matter of time until a war breaks out."  
"What was it like?"  
"It was awful... I only remember bits and pieces now, but... All that blood and bodies everywhere..."  
"That __**does**__ sound awful. At least it wasn't real, right?"  
"Yeah, but... it felt real. __**Very**__ real, actually... Too real."_

_Blake sighed loudly, indicating that he didn't want to discuss the issue any further. Realizing this, Max quickly changed subjects; speaking of the first thing that came to his mind._

_"Hey, do you think your mom minds that we're here fighting?"  
"I don't know... But hopefully she won't find out."  
"What about your dad?"  
"My dad's... not home right now."  
"Really? Why not?"  
"It's a long story..."_

_Just as Blake was about to tell his father's story to Max, his mother showed up, worried. He had been having so much fun that he hadn't realized that several hours had passed since he left home._

_"Blake! Have you been here the whole time?"  
"Hey, mom..."_

_Blake's mom yelled at him for a while, earning some giggles from Max. Blake felt embarrassed and humiliated, yet he went with his mother anyway, after saying goodbye to Max._

_As the boys said goodbye to each other and Blake left with his mother, Wyatt, Zach and the three Gallade warriors were trying to decide on the best course of action, given that nightfall was near._

_"I think we should camp out here for the night." Wyatt suggested.  
"I don't think we have near enough supplies." Zach replied. "I think we should move all throughout the night. If we do, we'll be there at dawn."  
"What about all the wild creatures? If we fight them, we'll be too exhausted to stop the attack."  
"There's five of us. We can handle anything they can throw at us."_

_The soldiers supported Zach's decision; Wyatt, seeing that he was outvoted, decided to follow their lead._

_While the men quickly made their way back to the Blaziken village, Blake was put in bed by his mother. She kissed him goodnight, and he fell asleep shortly after._

_Blake opened his eyes and found himself back in his nightmare. He had resumed it where he had left off – with him on his knees, crying for the loss of his friends and family._

_"____Why am I back here?__" Blake thought. "____I don't want to be here... I don't like it here...__"_

_Suddenly, a bright figure appeared in front of him. It was glowing too much to make out who or what it was, but the voice clearly belonged to a woman._

_"Blake... You have to stop it."_

_With that, Blake woke up back in his bed. He breathed deeply, trying to forget his dream, but it was useless. The harder he tried to forget it just made it worse._

_"____What did she mean? What do I have to stop? Is it the war?__"_

_Blake yawned loudly and closed his eyes. After the several sparring matches with Max and his mother's speech, he was completely exhausted. Even the fear that he would be back in his nightmare couldn't keep him awake. He fell asleep shortly after._

_Wyatt, Zach and the three Gallade warriors walked all throughout the night and, just like Zach had predicted, made it back to the Blaziken village in the morning without much difficulty. The villagers recognized their village's force's leader and greeted him, unlike the Gallade who feared him, even though he was accompanied by Gallade. Instead of heading home, however, Wyatt went straight for his leader's hut. There, he found Damien giving advice to his leader. After the men greeted the Blaziken's leader, Wyatt debriefed him on the situation._

_"Sir, I spoke with the Gallade's leader. He assures me that they are not behind this and sent some of his best men to prove it. They're going to assist us in the defense of our village."  
"Welcome to our village, Gallade warriors. My name is Jesse. I thank you in advance for your assistance."_

_While the Gallade warriors became acquainted with Jesse and Damien, Wyatt finally headed home. He was greeted by his overly excited, yet somewhat sleepy, son and his wife, the latter of whom immediately told him about Blake's running off to spar with Max. However, instead of being angry, Wyatt congratulated his son._

_"Did you win?"  
"No... We always ended in a draw."  
"That's alright, kiddo."_

_Blake's mother was surprised by Wyatt's reaction, but decided to drop the issue altogether._

_"____He's here. That's all that matters.__" Blake's mother thought._

_"How did you come back so soon, daddy?"  
"Well, long story short, I walked here all throughout the night."_

_Blake approached his father again, who then picked him up in his arms._

_"Come on; let me introduce you to some Gallade who joined me on my trip back."  
"Are you sure, dear?"  
"It's fine. They're trustworthy."_

_Wyatt carried Blake to their village's leader's hut, where the Gallade were waiting for orders. He then put him down on the ground, and he made a beeline for the Gallade._

_"Hello! I'm Blake."_

_The three guards grunted in response, leaving the small Torchic feeling somewhat sad. Zach, on the other hand, introduced himself._

_"Hello, little Torchic. I'm Zach. Don't mind my friends; they're just not used to being here."  
"Your friends look strong!"  
"They are. They're some of the strongest warriors we have."  
"Why are you here?"  
"Uh... Didn't your father tell you?" asked Zach as he pointed at Wyatt.  
"No..." replied Blake._

_Zach turned to Wyatt, who shook his head from side to side. However, his leader intervened and told both of them to tell Blake the truth._

_"It's alright. You can tell him."  
"Well, son, it's like this... We heard that some Gallade were coming to attack us."  
"Is it because of... the prophecy?"  
"I'm afraid so, kiddo."  
"Why can't you guys just get along?"_

_Some of the adults in Jesse's hut lowered their heads in shame. A small child brimming with curiosity and kindness like Blake seemed so much smarter than all of them put together.  
Zach turned to Blake, placing one knee on the ground while simultaneously putting his hand on the smaller Pokémon's shoulder, and leaned in against his ear._

_"I'm sorry, Blake." Zach whispered._

_The small Torchic was confused by Zach's sudden apology, but, just as he was about to ask him what he meant, an alarm was raised._

_"They're here!" Wyatt yelled in surprise.  
"What are we waiting for?" Zach replied. "Let's get them!"_

_Wyatt, Damien, Zach and the three Gallade guards quickly left Jesse's tent and headed toward where the alarm had been raised, followed by some of the Blaziken's own troops. Upon realizing that the Blaziken were not alone, the invading Gallade took a few steps back into the surrounding forest, where they thought they would have the advantage, to draw out the defending forces.  
Wyatt signaled the other Pokémon to fan out and find the Gallade that were hiding, while the rest of the villagers took refuge in their medium-sized huts._

_Wyatt and the others headed into the forest, as per his instructions, but they couldn't find the Gallade that were hiding there._

_"____Where did they go?__" Wyatt thought._

_Just as he was about to meet up with the others, Wyatt was attacked by two Gallade. They quickly surrounded him and cut off his escape options. His first instinct was to try to convince them to leave peacefully, mostly because he knew their number advantage would be hard to beat, but also because he truly did not want to fight them. However, he never had the chance to voice his opinion. The two Gallade continued their attack using psychic blasts. The large Blaziken quickly dodged their attacks and retaliated by tossing a few fireballs at them, nearly setting the forest on fire._

_"____I have to hold back and stop using fire attacks, or there won't be a forest for anyone.__" Wyatt thought._

_The Gallade readied their psychic blasts a second time and carefully aimed them at Wyatt. This time, they hit their target, and Wyatt was projected backward and hit a tree. Flames spouted from his wrists, as was normal for a Blaziken in the middle of a battle, even though he had been trying to hold them back. He knew that the only way to put them out was to either win or get knocked out, so he decided to take advantage of them. He honed in on the closest Gallade and punched him in the face, scorching his snow-white skin and green hair. The Gallade retaliated by focusing their psychic powers into a blast that knocked down every tree around them, as well as knocking back Wyatt, effectively clearing the area. The Gallade that came with Zach, Zach himself and the other Blaziken heard the blast and saw its effects, but they were too busy with their own battles to help.  
Wyatt got up from the dirt, with the flames on his wrists getting more intense. The Gallade recognized this as a sign that he was ready to fight._

_"So you're a fighter? Could've fooled me." one of the Gallade said.  
"I'm the leader of this village's forces, and I won't let you start a war."  
"Too bad. It's two against one; we have the upper hand."_

_Wyatt smiled at the Gallade's statement and finally stopped holding back his flames. The Gallade stared, wide-eyed, at the Blaziken's flames, surprised by his reaction._

_"You're wrong."_

_Wyatt dashed toward the two attacking Gallade and kicked one in the stomach, projecting him backwards onto one of the trees that had been knocked down by the Gallade's attack. The other Gallade tried to attack him, but Wyatt simply dodged and punched him several times, finishing his attack with another kick that knocked him back, though not as far as the first Gallade.  
The Gallade knew that their only chance of success against Wyatt was to attack together, so, after a quick chat, they did. However, they quickly realized that, without anything to hold him back, Wyatt was simply too powerful for them. Wyatt then created two fireballs in either hand, getting ready for another round._

_"____We shouldn't have created this clearing.__" one of the Gallade thought. "____We have to retreat.__"_

_The two Gallade regrouped and ran away from Wyatt, who decided to let them escape, since it sounded like the other Blaziken were in trouble. He ran to were the sounds of battle were coming from, and found all but one Blaziken knocked out cold. The one that was still awake, Damien, was holding his own against two Gallade, until Wyatt arrived and finally managed to knock them out. Damien quickly thanked his commanding officer for his help._

_"Thank you, sir. I was already starting to feel weak."  
"Don't worry about it. You did most of the work. They were already tired."_

_Zach and the three Gallade warriors met up with Wyatt and Damien. Zach ordered his warriors to carry the wounded Blaziken back to their village, leaving him alone with Wyatt and Damien._

_"Thanks for your help, Zach. I'm glad none of your warriors were hurt."  
"Oh, they were hurt... Just not as bad as your guys."  
"Well, let's head back. I'm sure our leader will be glad we all survived the attack."_

_Wyatt took a few steps toward his village, until Zach interrupted him._

_"There's just one thing..."_

_Zach fired a strong psychic blast straight at Wyatt's back, knocking him down._

_"You didn't make it after the attack."_

_Wyatt was exhausted after his battles, and after an attack like Zach's, he couldn't even get up. He called out to Damien, but he didn't help. Instead, he approached Wyatt and tossed a fireball at him. Wyatt quickly realized the obvious just before passing out: Damien and Zach were working together for some nefarious purpose.  
Damien and Zach prepared a final attack intended to kill Wyatt. Zach hesitated a bit to attack a defenseless Pokémon, but he did it anyway. Damien checked Wyatt's body, and realized he wasn't breathing._

_"He's dead."  
"...Good." Zach replied. "Now, we have to come up with a story to disguise his death..."_


	2. The Trip

_Wyatt faced the direction of the Gallade village and started making his way toward it. He walked for hours, finding wild bug Pokémon along the way, as was normal in the forest.  
Night came around, prompting the large Blaziken to make a decision. Should he continue along his path, or should he rest for the night?_

_"____If I hurry, I can probably make it there in a few more hours... Then again, their leader might be asleep; waking him up could put him in a bad mood... I'll rest here for the night.__"_

_Wyatt started gathering wood for a small fire, to keep wild Pokémon, such as Ursaring and Rhyhorn, away, in case they tried to attack him. Although he felt confident in his own fighting skills, he'd rather avoid fighting if it were possible; especially against wild Pokémon, who were only trying to defend themselves._

_Once he felt he had enough wood, Wyatt put it all on the same spot, circled it with stones, to prevent a forest fire, and lit it, using his own fire abilities. In the blink of an eye, the wood was crackling and burning._

_"____There. That should keep them away.__"_

_Wyatt unrolled the makeshift sleeping bag he had made at home and lied down in it. He briefly wondered how his family was doing back in his village, but fell asleep soon after._

_Blake heard several screams coming from many directions, as well as sounds of battle._

_"____What's going on?__"_

_He opened his eyes and found his village burning around him, with the sounds of battle getting louder and louder. He walked toward where the sound was coming from, and noticed something was different about him. He had long arms with three fingers, and strong legs. He had become a Blaziken._

_"____I changed? So soon? How?__"_

_"Blake!" yelled one of the village's elders. "Go help our warriors!"  
"Uh... Y-Yes, sir!"_

_Blake started running and found himself at the edge of a canyon. His village's forces were in battle with the forces from the Gallade village. He saw some of his villagers running away from the battle, even though they were being targeted by attacks from the Gallade. The Gallade and Gardevoir villagers also ran away, and they were also the target of some attacks by the Blaziken. However, the real battle was going on in the middle of all this. Blaziken and Gallade were fighting like nothing Blake had ever seen before. Blaziken jumped around, thanks to their strong legs, and rained fire from the sky. The Gallade, in turn, protected themselves with psychic shields and retaliated by firing psychic blasts at the sky. Most of the attacks missed or were foiled by either Pokémon defenses, but the ones that hit were devastating, practically knocking out their targets with a single attack.  
However, all this was nothing compared to the horror Blake witnessed when he looked at the Pokémon that had been knocked out. The last lines of defense of both sides approached the middle of the battle and, on the way, killed every enemy they could find. Their blood spilled onto the ground, soaking it and painting it red. Blake fell to his knees and cried for a few seconds, before a deep rage took hold of him. The thoughts of his friends dying and murdering others in cold blood completely washed over him. He screamed at the top of his lungs for them to stop, but they wouldn't listen. Dust surrounded the battlefield and, when it cleared, everyone was dead. Blood and bodies covered the entire area. Blake resumed his crying stance and wept for the loss of his friends and family, as well as the Gallade._

_Blake opened his eyes and found himself in his bed, covered in sweat._

_"____It was just a dream... Thank Arceus... But... it felt so real... All that horror... Is that what's going to happen if war breaks out?__"_

_"Blake!"  
"Yeah, mom?"  
"I need your help here!"  
"Coming, mom!"_

_"____I'd better not tell her about my nightmare... She'd just try to 'fix it'.__"_

_Wyatt woke up several minutes after Blake himself. Thankfully, all his items were still in place. He picked them up, put out the fire, and continued on his way to the Gallade village._

_"____I hope I'm not too late...__"_

_Meanwhile, in the Blaziken village, Blake, with his mother's permission, wandered to the Lucario village, to talk to Max. On his way there, he found Max, who was also heading back to meet him._

_"Hey, Max."  
"Hey."_

_Blake was still somewhat shaken up from his nightmare, and Max, being naturally empathetic, picked up on it. However, he decided to leave it up to Blake to talk about it._

_"____Whatever it is, it's not good.__" Max thought._

_The boys talked for several hours; discussing everything about their lives. Once they ran out of memories, they started talking about their own kind; specifically how they evolved._

_"So how do Riolu change into Lucario?"  
"You first."  
"It's pretty simple: we just get stronger, and then it happens."  
"Wow. I wish it were that simple for me. With us... We have to find a very good friend – usually another Riolu or a Lucario – and then we change."  
"That sounds kinda cool..."  
"It's a pain. Do you have any idea how many Riolu never change because they couldn't find a friend?"  
"I never thought of it that way..."  
"I wish we were like you. I don't want to stay like this forever."  
"...I'll be your friend."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. I won't rest until you change."  
"That's not normal, but... Thanks, Blake."  
"Hey, wanna fight again?"  
"Sure!"_

_As the boys started their first round of the day of friendly sparring, Wyatt finally reached the Gallade village. He was received with wary looks and some anger. Three guards quickly approached him and asked him what he was doing._

_"What do you want?"  
"I'm here to see your leader."  
"Eli doesn't want to talk to some piss-poor excuse for a Blaziken."_

_Wyatt looked around and saw the three Gallade quickly surrounding him. He knew there was no way he'd be able to defeat them all, unless they were fought one at a time, so he decided to play nice._

_"Look, I have something important to ask your leader. It could mean war if you don't let me."  
"Is that a threat?"_

_The guards tensed up from hearing their leader's question; they were beginning to think that, soon, they'd have to fight Blaziken, starting with Wyatt. Wyatt, sensing the tension, prepared himself mentally for battle. However, he gave diplomacy one last shot._

_"No. It's not a threat; it's... Look, supposedly, there's a group of Gallade getting ready to strike our village. I need to talk to your leader about it."_

_The guards' leader signaled them to relax, and so they did._

_"...Very well. We'll take you to him."_

_"____Finally... Progress.__" Wyatt thought._

_Wyatt was taken to the Gallade's leader's hut. On the way there, a lot of the villagers closed their windows and hid from him, as well as stopping their children from staring at him, as if they feared him. It made him feel uncomfortable, yet powerful. Once he arrived at the Gallade's leader's hut, he was greeted warmly by their leader. Wyatt was surprised by this, but decided to go along with it, lest he insult the Gallade's leader and ruin his chance to settle his affairs peacefully. Next to the leader was the leader's son, Zach. He whispered something incomprehensible into his father's ear, who then changed his expression to one of worry._

_"What's your name, son?"  
"I'm Wyatt, sir."  
"Good to meet you. I'm Eli. I'm told you walked here from the Blaziken village; is that correct?"  
"Yes."  
"Well, speak up! What did you want to discuss?"  
"Well, sir... According to some Gallade we... interrogated, an attack is being planned. We need to know if it's your doing."_

_Zach leaned closer to his father and whispered in his ear again._

_"Father, this Blaziken – Wyatt – is obviously lying. He wants us to believe his story so they can declare war on us."_

_Eli faced his son and whispered back._

_"I don't know, son... I think he's serious."  
"Father, I-"  
"Enough, son. I trust him. Besides, we've got nothing to hide. We didn't do this."_

_Wyatt was somewhat confused and suspicious by the whispering taking place in front of him, until Eli faced him again and started speaking._

_"Wyatt, I assure you we are __**not**__ behind this. Whatever's going on, our troops will assist you."  
"Really?"  
"Of course. We don't want a war any more than you do."_

_The guards in the room began to whisper to each other. Wyatt couldn't understand most of it, but from what he did understand, it seemed that some of the guards didn't share their leader's distaste for war. However, it was clear that they would obey their leader, as they were sworn to do._

_"I'll send four of my best men with you to stop this attack. I hope this proves you have nothing to fear from us."  
"Thank you, sir."  
"Wait for them by the edge of the village, facing the direction of your village. They will meet you there."  
"Thank you."_

_Wyatt left Eli's hut and headed for the rendezvous point. Just as he left, Eli told his son to choose three other warriors and go with Wyatt back to the Blaziken village._

_"Father, I don't trust that Blaziken."  
"Don't worry. It'll be fine. Trust me."  
"...Alright, father. I'll do it."_

_Zach pointed at three of the warriors in the hut and told them to follow him. They were warriors he trusted fully, so he knew if anything unexpected happened, they would go so far as to give up their lives for him._

_Zach and the three warriors met Wyatt at the proper location and began the trip back to the Blaziken village. Meanwhile, Blake and Max finished their third round of sparring. By the end of it they were completely exhausted, unable to move._

_"I almost had you that time!" Max yelled.  
"Right! Like I'd let you beat me."_

_"____If only you knew I wasn't taking advantage of the fact that you have no arms...__" Max thought._

_The boys lied on the short grass next to each other, recovering from the several rounds of sparring that always ended in draws. After gathering enough strength to do so, Blake started discussing his nightmare._

_"You know... I had this... dream – well, more of a nightmare – about the coming war."  
"What war?"  
"You haven't heard? Ever since news of that... kid got out of the Gallade village, my village and theirs have been... unfriendly. My dad says it's only a matter of time until a war breaks out."  
"What was it like?"  
"It was awful... I only remember bits and pieces now, but... All that blood and bodies everywhere..."  
"That __**does**__ sound awful. At least it wasn't real, right?"  
"Yeah, but... it felt real. __**Very**__ real, actually... Too real."_

_Blake sighed loudly, indicating that he didn't want to discuss the issue any further. Realizing this, Max quickly changed subjects; speaking of the first thing that came to his mind._

_"Hey, do you think your mom minds that we're here fighting?"  
"I don't know... But hopefully she won't find out."  
"What about your dad?"  
"My dad's... not home right now."  
"Really? Why not?"  
"It's a long story..."_

_Just as Blake was about to tell his father's story to Max, his mother showed up, worried. He had been having so much fun that he hadn't realized that several hours had passed since he left home._

_"Blake! Have you been here the whole time?"  
"Hey, mom..."_

_Blake's mom yelled at him for a while, earning some giggles from Max. Blake felt embarrassed and humiliated, yet he went with his mother anyway, after saying goodbye to Max._

_As the boys said goodbye to each other and Blake left with his mother, Wyatt, Zach and the three Gallade warriors were trying to decide on the best course of action, given that nightfall was near._

_"I think we should camp out here for the night." Wyatt suggested.  
"I don't think we have near enough supplies." Zach replied. "I think we should move all throughout the night. If we do, we'll be there at dawn."  
"What about all the wild creatures? If we fight them, we'll be too exhausted to stop the attack."  
"There's five of us. We can handle anything they can throw at us."_

_The soldiers supported Zach's decision; Wyatt, seeing that he was outvoted, decided to follow their lead._

_While the men quickly made their way back to the Blaziken village, Blake was put in bed by his mother. She kissed him goodnight, and he fell asleep shortly after._

_Blake opened his eyes and found himself back in his nightmare. He had resumed it where he had left off – with him on his knees, crying for the loss of his friends and family._

_"____Why am I back here?__" Blake thought. "____I don't want to be here... I don't like it here...__"_

_Suddenly, a bright figure appeared in front of him. It was glowing too much to make out who or what it was, but the voice clearly belonged to a woman._

_"Blake... You have to stop it."_

_With that, Blake woke up back in his bed. He breathed deeply, trying to forget his dream, but it was useless. The harder he tried to forget it just made it worse._

_"____What did she mean? What do I have to stop? Is it the war?__"_

_Blake yawned loudly and closed his eyes. After the several sparring matches with Max and his mother's speech, he was completely exhausted. Even the fear that he would be back in his nightmare couldn't keep him awake. He fell asleep shortly after._

_Wyatt, Zach and the three Gallade warriors walked all throughout the night and, just like Zach had predicted, made it back to the Blaziken village in the morning without much difficulty. The villagers recognized their village's force's leader and greeted him, unlike the Gallade who feared him, even though he was accompanied by Gallade. Instead of heading home, however, Wyatt went straight for his leader's hut. There, he found Damien giving advice to his leader. After the men greeted the Blaziken's leader, Wyatt debriefed him on the situation._

_"Sir, I spoke with the Gallade's leader. He assures me that they are not behind this and sent some of his best men to prove it. They're going to assist us in the defense of our village."  
"Welcome to our village, Gallade warriors. My name is Jesse. I thank you in advance for your assistance."_

_While the Gallade warriors became acquainted with Jesse and Damien, Wyatt finally headed home. He was greeted by his overly excited, yet somewhat sleepy, son and his wife, the latter of whom immediately told him about Blake's running off to spar with Max. However, instead of being angry, Wyatt congratulated his son._

_"Did you win?"  
"No... We always ended in a draw."  
"That's alright, kiddo."_

_Blake's mother was surprised by Wyatt's reaction, but decided to drop the issue altogether._

_"____He's here. That's all that matters.__" Blake's mother thought._

_"How did you come back so soon, daddy?"  
"Well, long story short, I walked here all throughout the night."_

_Blake approached his father again, who then picked him up in his arms._

_"Come on; let me introduce you to some Gallade who joined me on my trip back."  
"Are you sure, dear?"  
"It's fine. They're trustworthy."_

_Wyatt carried Blake to their village's leader's hut, where the Gallade were waiting for orders. He then put him down on the ground, and he made a beeline for the Gallade._

_"Hello! I'm Blake."_

_The three guards grunted in response, leaving the small Torchic feeling somewhat sad. Zach, on the other hand, introduced himself._

_"Hello, little Torchic. I'm Zach. Don't mind my friends; they're just not used to being here."  
"Your friends look strong!"  
"They are. They're some of the strongest warriors we have."  
"Why are you here?"  
"Uh... Didn't your father tell you?" asked Zach as he pointed at Wyatt.  
"No..." replied Blake._

_Zach turned to Wyatt, who shook his head from side to side. However, his leader intervened and told both of them to tell Blake the truth._

_"It's alright. You can tell him."  
"Well, son, it's like this... We heard that some Gallade were coming to attack us."  
"Is it because of... the prophecy?"  
"I'm afraid so, kiddo."  
"Why can't you guys just get along?"_

_Some of the adults in Jesse's hut lowered their heads in shame. A small child brimming with curiosity and kindness like Blake seemed so much smarter than all of them put together.  
Zach turned to Blake, placing one knee on the ground while simultaneously putting his hand on the smaller Pokémon's shoulder, and leaned in against his ear._

_"I'm sorry, Blake." Zach whispered._

_The small Torchic was confused by Zach's sudden apology, but, just as he was about to ask him what he meant, an alarm was raised._

_"They're here!" Wyatt yelled in surprise.  
"What are we waiting for?" Zach replied. "Let's get them!"_

_Wyatt, Damien, Zach and the three Gallade guards quickly left Jesse's tent and headed toward where the alarm had been raised, followed by some of the Blaziken's own troops. Upon realizing that the Blaziken were not alone, the invading Gallade took a few steps back into the surrounding forest, where they thought they would have the advantage, to draw out the defending forces.  
Wyatt signaled the other Pokémon to fan out and find the Gallade that were hiding, while the rest of the villagers took refuge in their medium-sized huts._

_Wyatt and the others headed into the forest, as per his instructions, but they couldn't find the Gallade that were hiding there._

_"____Where did they go?__" Wyatt thought._

_Just as he was about to meet up with the others, Wyatt was attacked by two Gallade. They quickly surrounded him and cut off his escape options. His first instinct was to try to convince them to leave peacefully, mostly because he knew their number advantage would be hard to beat, but also because he truly did not want to fight them. However, he never had the chance to voice his opinion. The two Gallade continued their attack using psychic blasts. The large Blaziken quickly dodged their attacks and retaliated by tossing a few fireballs at them, nearly setting the forest on fire._

_"____I have to hold back and stop using fire attacks, or there won't be a forest for anyone.__" Wyatt thought._

_The Gallade readied their psychic blasts a second time and carefully aimed them at Wyatt. This time, they hit their target, and Wyatt was projected backward and hit a tree. Flames spouted from his wrists, as was normal for a Blaziken in the middle of a battle, even though he had been trying to hold them back. He knew that the only way to put them out was to either win or get knocked out, so he decided to take advantage of them. He honed in on the closest Gallade and punched him in the face, scorching his snow-white skin and green hair. The Gallade retaliated by focusing their psychic powers into a blast that knocked down every tree around them, as well as knocking back Wyatt, effectively clearing the area. The Gallade that came with Zach, Zach himself and the other Blaziken heard the blast and saw its effects, but they were too busy with their own battles to help.  
Wyatt got up from the dirt, with the flames on his wrists getting more intense. The Gallade recognized this as a sign that he was ready to fight._

_"So you're a fighter? Could've fooled me." one of the Gallade said.  
"I'm the leader of this village's forces, and I won't let you start a war."  
"Too bad. It's two against one; we have the upper hand."_

_Wyatt smiled at the Gallade's statement and finally stopped holding back his flames. The Gallade stared, wide-eyed, at the Blaziken's flames, surprised by his reaction._

_"You're wrong."_

_Wyatt dashed toward the two attacking Gallade and kicked one in the stomach, projecting him backwards onto one of the trees that had been knocked down by the Gallade's attack. The other Gallade tried to attack him, but Wyatt simply dodged and punched him several times, finishing his attack with another kick that knocked him back, though not as far as the first Gallade.  
The Gallade knew that their only chance of success against Wyatt was to attack together, so, after a quick chat, they did. However, they quickly realized that, without anything to hold him back, Wyatt was simply too powerful for them. Wyatt then created two fireballs in either hand, getting ready for another round._

_"____We shouldn't have created this clearing.__" one of the Gallade thought. "____We have to retreat.__"_

_The two Gallade regrouped and ran away from Wyatt, who decided to let them escape, since it sounded like the other Blaziken were in trouble. He ran to were the sounds of battle were coming from, and found all but one Blaziken knocked out cold. The one that was still awake, Damien, was holding his own against two Gallade, until Wyatt arrived and finally managed to knock them out. Damien quickly thanked his commanding officer for his help._

_"Thank you, sir. I was already starting to feel weak."  
"Don't worry about it. You did most of the work. They were already tired."_

_Zach and the three Gallade warriors met up with Wyatt and Damien. Zach ordered his warriors to carry the wounded Blaziken back to their village, leaving him alone with Wyatt and Damien._

_"Thanks for your help, Zach. I'm glad none of your warriors were hurt."  
"Oh, they were hurt... Just not as bad as your guys."  
"Well, let's head back. I'm sure our leader will be glad we all survived the attack."_

_Wyatt took a few steps toward his village, until Zach interrupted him._

_"There's just one thing..."_

_Zach fired a strong psychic blast straight at Wyatt's back, knocking him down._

_"You didn't make it after the attack."_

_Wyatt was exhausted after his battles, and after an attack like Zach's, he couldn't even get up. He called out to Damien, but he didn't help. Instead, he approached Wyatt and tossed a fireball at him. Wyatt quickly realized the obvious just before passing out: Damien and Zach were working together for some nefarious purpose.  
Damien and Zach prepared a final attack intended to kill Wyatt. Zach hesitated a bit to attack a defenseless Pokémon, but he did it anyway. Damien checked Wyatt's body, and realized he wasn't breathing._

_"He's dead."  
"...Good." Zach replied. "Now, we have to come up with a story to disguise his death..."_


End file.
